Sand-delivering mechanism for street-cars



(No Modem A. PARRANT. SAND DELIVERING MECHANISM r03, sun-1m: ems.

No. 527,446. Patented Oct. 16, 1894.

Wtnesses. Inventor.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER PARRANT, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

. SAND-DELIVERING MECHANISM FOR STREET-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Ni. .527,446, da.ted October 16, 1894. y

Application filed May 11, 1894. Serial No. 510,856. (No model.)

and useful Sand-Delivering Mechanism for Street-Cars, of which the following, together i with the accompanying drawings, is a specification sufficiently full, clear, and exact to enable persons skilled in the art to which this invention appertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is to provide, for the purpose named, an automatically operating mechanism of the nature andstructure described, working in combination with the truck wheel-axle, and having suitable connectionsunder control of the driver or motor-man for throwing the mechanism into and out of operative action as desired.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional side view of a sand-distributing mechanism embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the sand box showing the sliding gate in the bottom thereof.

Referring to parts, A designates the receptacle, box or hopper for containing the sand, arranged upon the floor of the car B, preferably beneath the seat; and provided with a chute or conductor a leading therefrom to deliver the sand upon the track W. A sliding gate or valve 0' at the bottom of the sandbox controls the discharge of sand as required by opening and closing the mouth of the chute. An angle-lever D is pivoted on a fulcrum axis or stud E supported by a suitable bracket E attached to the bottom sill of the car. One arm of said lever extends up through an openin g in the bottom of the sand-box and engages in a cavity in the under side of the gate, said gate covering the opening, while the other arm of said leverD extends backward toward the axle G of the truck-wheels G, and is provided with a downwardly inclined end having arranged thereon a sliding shoe or contact member F that can be moved into andfrom engagement with a cam or actuator H arranged on the axle G and revolving therewith.

The cam II is herein made with four swells or protuberant portions, but any desired numher, more or less, can be employed for giving quicker or less rapid impulses to the lever D, as in any instance required. A lifting spring I is connected with the arm of the lever for keeping it normally elevated and the gate closed. The end of said spring may be attached to the car bottom by a tension adj usting device; as at t.

The sliding contact piece F is fitted with an ear f at one side for receiving the screwthreaded end of a shifting bar J which is passed through the same and confined, more or less closely, by jam-nuts n arranged on the threaded end at opposite sides of said ear with a free intermediate space. Said bar J extends alongside the arm of the lever and has at its other end a guide or slot J arrangedin conjunction withthe stud E, so that said bar can be moved backward or forward, as hereinafter explained. The end of the bar J is connected by a rod or link K with the upper arm of an angle lever L, pivoted at am a bracket E attached to the car bottom, and the lower arm of said lever L is pivotally joined with a shipper-barP that extends up through the car platform B, and is furnished with a suitable grip or handle P in reach of the driver or motor-man. Notches m m are formed in the edge of the shipper-bar that engage with a plate or catch T attached to the platform for'retaining the adjustment, and a spring S arranged to press against the bar serves to retain the parts in engagement, as indicated.

A spring 01 is preferably provided to press the shoe F toward its outward position, and to afford yielding contact thereof with the camsurface to avoid pounding of the surfaces together.

The sand-gate C is provided with a hump or boss 0' on its upper side which covers the cavity within which the end of the lever D engages, and also serves asan agitator to break up the sand at the bottom of the hopper; the ends of said boss being formed laterallysharp and upwardly inclined to actas a plow. The cam wheel H is best formed in two halves so as to be clamped onto the axle G by bolting the two parts together, as indicated.

The operation is as follows:-When the hand-bar P, lever L, link K and bar J are in the position shown in full lines Fig. 1, the shoe or contact piece F is at backward extension on the angle-lever D and projecting'therefrom so that it engages with the cam 'H; and the projecting point of the latter, as it revolves with the movement of the axle G, depresses the piece F and end of the lever D and thereby slides back the gate 0, permitting sand to fall through the chute aupon the track W. The spring I immediately lifts the lever and closes the gate 0 when the point of the cam has passed, thus giving a vibratory motion to the lever; and this motion, by opening and closing the gate repeatedly in quick succession, continues to distribute sand so long as the mechanism is in active position. When it is desired to stop the delivery of sand the motorman or attendant depresses the shipper-barP which moves the lever L, link: K and bar J to the position indicated by dotted line Fig. 1,

and thereby retracts the member F upon the lever D out of contact with the cam H, and the gate 0 is then retained closed by the action of the lift-spring I until the mechanism is again thrown into operation by lifting the shipper-bar.

lt claim and desire to secure by LettersPaten 1. The combination with the car and its wheel-axle, of the sand receptacle, thesliding gate .and delivery chute, the gate-operating lever, the contact-shoe movable and sliding on the end of said lever, the lift-spring attached to said lever, acarn on the wheel-axle, and means for shifting said contact-shoeendwise into and from engagement with said cam, for the purpose set forth.

'2. The combination with the sand-box, the

sliding-gate, the gate operating angle-lever fulcrumed on the stationary pivot stud E and having the retractible contact member longitudinally movable on the end thereof; and the cam upon the car-axle, of a bar J supported by a slot orguide at the fulcrum pivot E connected Withsaid contact member, and having its end joined by a rod with an angle-lever, and a shipper-bar at the car-platform, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a sanddelivering mechanism for streetcars, the combination with the sand-box and its delivery chute, of the sliding gate or valve havingthe hump 0' upon its top side with a cavity beneath, and the operating leverconnecting orengaged therewith through an opening in the bottom of the sand-box.

. 4. In a sand-distributing mechanism for street-cars, the contact piece F sliding on the.

end of the gate-actuating lever, and provided with aperforated earf, the bar J having its threaded end passing through said ear, with the jam-nuts n n arranged with an intervening space for loosely confining said ear, and the spring (1 normally forcing said contact piece toward the end of the lever, in combination with the actuating cam H, the sandfeeding devices and connections forworking said bar J.

Witness my hand this 8th day of May, A. D. 1894.

ALEXANDER PARRANT.

Witnesses:

CHAS. H. BURLEIGH, ELLA P. BLENUS. 

